Outrage After Deadly South Africa Mosque Attack

South African police are hunting for three attackers who cut the throat of an imam and stabbed and seriously injured two other people at a Shia mosque.

The attack on the mosque on Thursday in Verulam, a town 27 km north of Durban, left the Muslim community outraged and demanding answers, Aljazeera reported.

Major Bheki Langa, KwaZulu-Natal province’s acting police commissioner, said in a statement the motive was still unclear. The assailants also set the mosque on fire before escaping in a getaway vehicle.

“Such criminality cannot be tolerated. A team of investigators has been dispatched to solve the case and bring perpetrators to book,” Langa said. Emergency rescue services said the imam’s throat had been slit and he later died, while the two other men had been stabbed. Both victims were in hospital in critical condition.

  Swift Condemnation

The incident drew immediate condemnation from the Muslim leadership across the country.

Faisal Suleman, chairperson of the South African Muslim Network, told Aljazeera his organization would not want to speculate on a motive given it was still not clear.

“We condemn this attack and we are urging the law enforcement to spare no effort in apprehending the perpetrators alive so that the reasons become known,” Suleman said from Durban.

“South Africa has not had such attacks in the past, so we caution against speculation.”

The Muslim Judicial Council denounced the bloodshed and said the core of Islamic teachings and principles are “respect for all human beings”.

Muslims make up about 1.9% of South Africa’s 55 million population, with most following the Sunni Muslim denomination.